Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

jjlibra — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:23:06 GMT

My 4 yr. old loves sad songs too!!! there is a song at the end of the movie Eragon that is a real tear-jerker and she won't stop watching until it's done! and the song at the end of The Land Before Time- boo hoo- she said "mommy i was almost gonna cry" and then smiled.

and while we are on the topic of sad and or inappropriate themes for kids movies...the other day at work we were discussing The Lion King. think about all the people who had to approve the story line about someone who kills his brother, blames his nephew for the murder and eventually tries to kill his nephew too. and to make it even more scary they get James Earl Jones and Jeremy Irons to do the voices!! oh yeah, that plot and casting has kiddy movie written all over it- wtf???

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

chyna823 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:28:00 GMT

For the last year, my 4-year-old daughter's absolute favorite song has been "Because of You" by Kelly Clarkson--a song in which a young woman blames her f-ed up adult relationships on her parents. Fan-freakin'-tastic.

What's funny is that the first time she heard it on the car radio, she started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "This song is sad." So I started to change the station and she said, "No! It's sad but I like it anyway."

I gotta get this kid into a music class.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

GirlsGoneChild — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:42:23 GMT

Aw.... That song sounds just AWFUL SAD. Good call with the Narwhals thing though. Nice work.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Jennifer — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:13:42 GMT

My 3yo loves sad songs -- Puff is one, but the real kicker is "The Unicorn Song." I knew it by the Irish Rovers as a kid, and she got it on a mix tape by some band called the Nields.... So freaking depressing. It's all about how when Noah built the ark and the unicorns were supposed to get on and they were playing and not paying attention.... "And that's why you'll never see a unicorn, to this very day." We spent weeks talking her down from that cliff - yes, honey, we'll always get you, we would never leave you behind, we would get the unicorns, we would never leave them behind... We even went so far as to claim that the unicorns learned to swim and turned into narwhals, but she could tell we were reaching.

She still loves the song, but damn if it doesn't make me cry.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

india wallis — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:59:05 GMT

My little guy knows most of the words to Death Cab for Cutie's I Will Follow You Into the Dark. "Loomahnate de nos on dere vacancy signs." But the song that he asks for *constantly* is the Kooks' Ooh La. Not as sorrowful, but still weird to hear your kid sing "beauty's card that muss get played ... by organizations!"

Someday, he will have ample material to discuss with his therapist.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

superblondgirl — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:09:56 GMT

Mine loves Puff, too, but it always makes him cry. So we listen, we cry, we listen again. It's torture.

He also really likes Morrissey, though, so maybe he's just an emo kind of 5 year old.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Tracey — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:27:40 GMT

Lindsey, I remember loving Bennie and the Jets when I was a kid because I loved the "B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets" part. I think that's how it is for kids. I also loved "Hit the Road Jack" by Ray Charles just because even at the tender young age of 5 I knew it meant that it's time for somebody to get the hell out. I thought that was hilarious.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

trieber — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:50:15 GMT

My son went through a phase when he really liked the song "American Pie" by Don Mclean. There's something really disturbing about hearing your 5 year old sing "this will be the day that I die"

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Lindsey — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:14:26 GMT

Right now my son is way in to Elton John's Rocket Man. The entire song is a bummer (Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids, in fact it's cold as hell), but he loves the "Oh no, no, no" and sings right along.

I totally agree about Puff being the most depressing song as a parent. I loved Puff but I'm not putting it in the rotation yet. I'm just not ready. I got all teary just reading the lyrics.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Amanda — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:36:10 GMT

I guess I'm lucky also, my little boy sings all the songs from HairSpray. Nothing like a four year old singing "Ladies Choice".

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

KMat — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 01:19:48 GMT

I guess I'm lucky my kids rock out to Black Sabbath and the Ramones...

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Abbie — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:20:54 GMT

I spent a year nannying a little girl whose favorite song in the whole entire world was "Day is Done" by Peter, Paul and Mary.

Seriously, just as sad as Puff. Although watching a three-year-old sing along to a song about being a parent is almost as funny as it is heartbreaking.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

GirlsGoneChild — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 21:00:53 GMT

Ah, yes. But sadly the weed thing was just a rumor. Sigh...

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Tortured Mama — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:43:37 GMT

I heard puff the magic dragon was actually about smoking weed. Also makes sense when you read the lyrics over again with this in mind. When I think about it this way, it's a lot less sad.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Candes — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 18:04:17 GMT

When I was young I really like that song, "Billy don't be a hero..." course I can't recall the name but it was during a time my Dad was off in the Army, a stint that didn't last long due to a broken leg.

Tucker likes just about anything and Carsen, my 1 yr old (tomorrow) will bounce to anything w/ a beat.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

kd — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:49:29 GMT

Oh, yeah... our favorite lullaby CD is The Cure - Rockaby Baby's lullaby renditions. Sweet, sweet, SAD. You haven't really wept until you've rocked your sleeping newborn baby girl while singing "Just like heaven" and "love song."

In all fairness, I'm not sure if she really notices these are sad songs, or just thinks "Hey, Naptime" when she hears them.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Tracey — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:30:03 GMT

Dumbo, Bambi, Nemo, 101 Dalmatians, all of that shit is scary in retrospect. And all about losing a parent, possibly forever. WTF Disney? And that one little fat dalmatian who couldn't quite keep up. OMG, I worried so much for that little fat puppy! That's an awful lot for little kids to think about.

No wonder so many people are anxious, neurotic, and alcoholic!

Ahem.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

GirlsGoneChild — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 05:42:07 GMT

Oh, sheesh. Jeannine. Naked as we came? You're KILLING me! and Amy, Dumbo is probably the most upsetting film ever if you're a mom. That Baby Mine song made me cry even as a child! You must be some kind of masochist! Ahhh!!!!

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Jeannine — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:33:13 GMT

Naked as we came....Iron and Wine.

Iron and Wine has been soothing his cries since he was born. Never fails to calm him down even after almost 2 years.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Amy — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 01:06:40 GMT

I made a pretty awesome custom lullaby mix when my first son was a newborn (James is almost the exact age as Archer - my troublemaker was born 5-28-05) I made 2 CDs of Beatles, Doors, Paul Simon, Louis Armstrong, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.

But I think I must have been suffering from some mild PPD at the time because I included some seriously depressing numbers on there. Oh yes I have "Puff", plus "Cats in the Cradle," Allison Krause singing "Baby Mine" (you know the one from Dumbo when the Mama elephant is locked up and rocking him through the bars)and Richard Marx "Angel's Lullaby" which has a line "So tell me how/ to stop the years from racing/ is there a secret someone knows/ I'll never catch all the memories I'm chasing/ never be ready to let go"

Needless to say I would be leaning over his crib watching him sleep, listening to these songs and WEEPING until snot poured from my nose onto his little bald head.

Now that he no longer naps and is climbing onto my kitchen counters all day long whilst ordering me about like I am his personal assistant/slave I just keep in mind that by 7pm I will have my little angel back as he blissfully passes out to his music. Seriously, he was such a good baby until I got pregnant again when he was 18 months old. I think he's going to outdo himself on naughtiness when he turns 3 (Thankfully he'll start some part time nursery school in September)

James is really into Jack Johnson's "Curious George" stuff lately. Also he is constantly ordering me to sing "This Old Man" with the guy playing knick-knack on whatever silly thing he calls out at the time. Which can really become an incredibly exhausting task after about 9000 verses.

Needless to say my younger son(almost 7 months) has not had the luxury of custom mixes made for him. Nor have I wept over his sleeping head. Instead I've wept over his thrashing head accompanied by his screams of colic (rather than by Tom Petty's twang or Bono's lilting brogue).

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Lindsey — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 00:19:56 GMT

AAAH! I love that Archer sings the Once soundtrack! That's brilliant. He might be into Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - The Letting Go.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

GirlsGoneChild — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:47:24 GMT

Tracey-- I grew up with Simon and Garfunkel as well and Cat Stevens. Morning Has Broken, Father and Son (OH MY GOD, SADDEST SONG EVER EVER EVER.) and Moonshadow were my favorites. That shit still chokes me up.

Jasmin-- that song sounds like a good one to add to the "suicidal parent mixtape" along with Puff. Sheesh.

Tara-- We have that book! It comes with the CD, er, the CD came with the book. We have it! But the lyrics are still the same. You're right, though. With the little girl there is hope for Puff yet.

Mandy-- "The Dying Guys Song" kills me. That is too cute, funny and oh-so-sad. Sad, sad children we have...

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Gene — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:29:33 GMT

I was one of those kids that liked the dark songs as well as the happy ones. My sister and I are recording artists and just released a lullaby cd (our first foray into children's music), and it actually includes two very sad songs about kids growing up ("Watercolour Ponies" and "You'll Never Be Too Old (For a Lullaby)"), which are definitely there more for the adults. It's cool how kids learn to deal with those emotions through song.

www.StardustLullaby.com

www.StardustLullaby.blogspot.com

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Tracey — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:15:55 GMT

Ha! Until I read this post I hadn't thought much what I listened to as a kid. But I remember Simon & Garfunkel over and over and over and over again. Other than "Cecilia" that stuff is pretty somber.

My toddler likes bluegrass, and though I enjoy it for awhile, all of that twangling and sliding can get old QUICK.

re: Puff The Most Depressing Dragon Ever

Jasmin — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 16:37:49 GMT

My 2 1/2 year old can sing the whole Once soundtrack as well haha, but one of the sadder songs she knows is "White Daisy Passing" by Rocky Votolato... "I'm going down to sleep on the bottom of the ocean, Cause I couldn’t let go when the water hit the setting sun"...

poo hoo hoo hoo..